Bourses trim some losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some losses in late afternoon session. Losses in Bankex and Consumer Durables shares pulled the headline indices lower, though gains in Realty, Power and Consumer Discretionary stocks lent some support. However, buying was seen in broader indices i.e. BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index. Traders failed to took support with private report that expects the economy to continue to show positive surprises and record up to 9 per cent growth in the next fiscal. For the current financial year too, it anticipates growth to be higher than the consensus forecast of 8.4-9.5 per cent, and printing in at around 10.5 per cent.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors avoided big bets ahead of U.S. consumer inflation data for November due this evening and the FOMC meeting next week. It is expected that the Federal Reserve could decide to double the pace of tapering its asset purchase program to $30 billion per month. European markets were trading lower, as renewed concerns about the omicron Covid-19 variant continue to weigh, while investors await key U.S. inflation data later in the day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58,635.93, down by 171.2 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 58414.76 and 58850.24. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.24%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.89%, Power up by 0.83%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.67%, Utilities up by 0.56% and Industrials was up by 0.47%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.54%, Bankex down by 0.44%, Energy down by 0.36%, TECK down by 0.19% and IT was down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 3.23%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.93%, ITC up by 0.74%, TCS up by 0.70% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 1.93%, HDFC down by 1.65%, Axis Bank down by 1.25%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.79% and HCL Tech down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, emphasizing the utmost importance of timely completion of project works, the Union Steel Minister, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has reviewed the progress of capital expenditure (CAPEX) by Steel CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises) against their annual target of Rs 13,300 crore for the year 2021-22.

Minister advised setting daily targets and close monitoring for time bound project implementation. This achievement of targets shall motivate the work force, enhance India’s steel production and spur higher growth. He directed CMDs to redouble efforts to ensure that there are no slippages in milestones for achieving the project targets for the year 2021-22.

Besides, the Steel Minister reviewed the capital expenditure done till November in FY 2021-22, by PSUs. Singh advised the CMDs to plan for the remaining period of Fin Year on a daily basis to meet the shortfall in target achievement.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17,469.35, down by 47.50 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 17405.25 and 17534.35. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.22%, Grasim Industries up by 1.31%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.98%, JSW Steel up by 0.96% and SBI Life up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 1.66%, HDFC down by 1.65%, Titan Company down by 1.61%, Tata Consumer down by 1.27% and Axis Bank down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 287.70 points or 1% to 28,437.77, Hang Seng decreased 259.14 points or 1.07% to 23,995.72, Taiwan Weighted dropped 87.86 points or 0.49% to 17,826.26, KOSPI fell 19.34 points or 0.64% to 3,010.23, Shanghai Composite declined 6.69 points or 0.18% to 3,666.35 and Straits Times was down by 5.54 points or 0.18% to 3,136.91. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 8.99 points or 0.14% to 6,652.92.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 14.66 points or 0.2% to 7,306.60, France’s CAC decreased 28.42 points or 0.41% to 6,979.81 and Germany’s DAX was down by 51.87 points or 0.33% to 15,587.39.